new here, I have a question :)

hello, I am new here, my mom has been coming to this site for years.

I have had really bad GAD and social anxiety disorder with mild panic for years, for the longest time I was in denial and refused to get help even though I had not worked for 8+ years, recently I filed for social security and was denied so I seek'd out the help of a lawyer whom accepted my case under the condition I go and get some help.

having not worked, had no innsurance or any money my lawyer pointed me to a local near free community mental health center called lifeskills, here I had a really great therapist ( not a psychologist or psychiatrist ) who seemed to understand what I had and how it worked and wanted to help me, then about 6 months ago I moved to a new city about 35 miles from where I lived before and they transferred me to another branch of lifeskills in my new city.

they assigned me a new therapist here where I live now, and this lady, at least to me, just doesn't seem to get it, when I tell her I dont like to go into walmart she says no one really likes to go into walmart, I tell her I dont like to meet new people and she says no one really likes to meet new people, I tell her I dont leave the house and she just makes a "hmmmm" noise and then says I need to go out and do it that if i just sit at home and don't try to change I must not really want to change at all -I am afraid of doing it, or getting physical symptoms like chest pain or dizziness when I do it etc, and she just does not seem to understand that.

she is also very insistent that I go to a local vocational rehab place and find a job - which I am very UNCOMFORTABLE with doing yet, I dont feel I am anywhere near ready for this and just the thought of picking up the phone to call them scares me silly.

this lady is pretty young so I am guessing she couldn't have been out of school for more than 3 - 6 years, maybe she just does not understand what I am going through? do I need to try and educate her to my problems? my back is sort of against the wall, with no money or no insurance I really can not go anywhere else for help.

right now i am just waiting to hear back the results from my disability hearing and praying the judge approves it ( which seems unlikely since i have NO medical records from the last 7 years up until about a year or so again when my lawyer forced me to go to the doctor ) so I can get some money and go see a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

does anyone have any advice on how I should handle this? what I maybe could say to her? any help at all would be greatly appreciated, I am really confused about what to do and think right now.

Dear Big Doc,

this is just a suggestion, and only to be used if you are comfortable with it, but my personal opinion is, there is nothing wrong with telling your current therapist that she "doesn't seem to get it" about your anxiety and inability to do things. it has been my experience with therapy, that sometimes it's helpful to talk to the therapist about "how the therapy is going". it can sometimes lead to fruitful discussions and change things.

like i said, just a suggestion for you to take or leave, whatever you think is best.

thanks,

I'm so sorry that your current therapist isn't with it. My suggestion would be to see someone else. What you describe is fear of those places you don't want to go to and I had that 20 years ago. It was horrible and I am doing fine now but it took help and work and medication to get me to calm down and be able to gradually expose myself to the things that had become fearful to me. I hope you can find someone else who has more compassion and is more interested in helping you because what you describe can be overcome and you can get better. I am proof of that.